Michael Schwartz Events

Good food, good drink, good music, and love. If there is a day to indulge in all of the above, all at once, it’s on your wedding day. Elegant but not pretentious; unfussy, but buttoned-up, Michael Schwartz Events has new menus with nuptials in mind — from cocktail parties to seated dinners, and even a beautiful mobile wood oven to make a culinary statement on this memorable occasion.

Whether it’s for a celebration at home, or a reception at one of the many beautiful venues in South Florida, our events team can customize the perfect menu for both large and intimate parties. Get in touch and let us know how we can make your big day simply delicious. For menus and more visit michaelschwartzevents.com.

Get a first taste of Chef Michael Schwartz’s soon-to-open waterfront restaurant NEXT WEEK with a pop up dinner experience. Guests will enjoy an Amara experience including snacks and cocktails for their table followed by 4 courses served family-style for $189 including tax, gratuity and valet parking. Inspired by its idyllic bayside setting, Amara at Paraiso brings together bold Latin American flavors, coastal ingredients and South Florida’s diversity of food culture to create the quintessential Miami dining experience from environment to cuisine to vibe. Revel in the dynamic energy, local ingredients, and natural beauty that defines what living in Miami is all about, and at the best time to enjoy it.

Click HERE to book your table through Resy before it’s too late. You may also do so by calling 305.702.5528. Seatings are available on the half hour from 7-9:30 p.m. from Wednesday, December 6 to Saturday, December 9 on-site at the restaurant in Paraiso Bay ( 3101 NE 7th Ave, Miami, FL 33137).

“MJ always has to touch the dough. Always,” explains Chelsea Hillier, assistant pastry chef. It’s 5:56 a.m. and work on the day’s prep list has already been in motion for 30 minutes. We’re spending the morning at the Genuine Commissary, where the energy is decidedly different than later in the day. It’s… well… therapeutic?

To understand how a place so frenetic can glaze-coat the spirit and spark a twinkle in the eye, you have to be there. In fact, I prescribe a visit with MJ and her team to anyone afflicted with a case of sour attitude or bad day. It’s a dose of good vibes, creative energy and inspirational collaboration like no other I’ve experienced. Talk about knowing where our food comes from… They have their hands all over it.

Sandwiching nutter butter peanut sandwich cookies for ella pop café.

“We started making the bagels because Harry and I went to brunch on Miami Beach,” chef Michael recounts. “Harry’s bagel arrived, and it was like a Lender’s. At this fancy place! I listened to myself as I justified how this could happen — that it’s too hard to make good bagels, so why go through the pain of making sure it’s done right, the extra cost and time associated. It was then when I realized that was totally ridiculous. We shouldn’t have to suffer through shitty bagels. Let’s make bagels! So Harry and I spent a few weekends after that testing recipes and figuring it out.”

Spreading the peanut butter cream to the nutter shell. Myrtille is one of several commissary staff exclusively working on-site, not including TGHG chefs overseeing the production or popping in on any given day for recipe testing or other projects related to Michael Schwartz Events.

MJ, whose title of Pastry Chef is more and more savory these days, and Chelsea have totally embraced this thought process and put it into action, with their well-oiled machine. It’s an exercise in “mental time management”, and to get good fitness there serves them in every aspect of functionality and productivity at the space. That they are taking on bagels to begin with demonstrates the strength of the operation, and its steady and calculated evolution from humble beginnings in January — both in capabilities and the scope of its role. The commissary now supplies Ella Pop Café with 12 to 14 a day (“We want them to be fresh, and eliminate waste when possible, so no crazy pars,” they say) and 56 on Sunday’s for Michael’s Genuine.

“We used to do the English muffin at brunch, and Chef was like ‘I want you guys to do bagels’ and he gave us this recipe and asked us to develop it,” MJ explains. “It really came to life when we got the commissary and this (combi) oven. There aren’t a lot of places that make them by hand, from scratch. We just worked with the dough and used the Rational as our ally to make the best of it in a controlled environment. Before we would boil them, we were trying to be rushed at the restaurant to get it done, and they weren’t right.”

As Chelsea rolls and then rests the dough before pulling them into loops, she explains that the bagels take good chunk of time even if it is only 12 to 14. The key to bagels is keeping a clean workspace, and that also includes your hands. You don’t want to incorporate more flour or oil than necessary, even the tiniest bit. They need to sit and rest for the gluten to develop properly in the dough, not too much or they’ll get tense and rip, overextending like a muscle.

“It’s a time to breath and think amidst the craziness of the pace from one thing to the next. It’s like therapy,” she reflects. “The time they need depends. You need more than time to know. You have to touch them, and use all your senses to know when. I usually stare at the prep list and contemplate as I’m pulling them.”

Homework.

So much depends on time and timing here for it to all work, from the bagel dough and all its stages including proofing and baking, to adjustments on call times for the staff based on the work load for the week. When the duck confit goes in for its 9 hour water bath (sous vide) at 8 a.m., you better have completed everything requiring the combi oven by then. In this way, the prep list double as a recipe, which Chef notes only serves if read all the way through before starting. Then there’s the last minute requests, the fire drills you can’t plan for, like a downed walk-in cooler, that can set things off axis and require smart, creative thinking on the fly. It’s a business of anticipation but also of problem solving.

The day builds momentum from the instant Chelsea opens the kitchen, a mind-blowing (cue the new emoji!), eye-squinting 4:30 a.m. on Sundays. The morning is the most hectic because because the team needs to knock out all orders for the restaurants, to supply everyone — and they want things fresh. They base everything off Ella’s timeline so that means 8:30 a.m. delivery. On days there are early orders for Michael Schwartz Events, that could be 7:30 a.m. Rye Butterscotch Brownie trimmings make it all better, of course. So does the surprise, creative elements unique to each day.

The sound of the Rational’s timer is like medieval times.

Ella’s daily doughnut yesterday – Pumpkin Chocolate Coffee!

See, touch, feel, smell…

Another bagel making stage, the egg wash.

Rye Butterscotch brownie trimmings for breakfast!

“We never do the same thing. Everyday is different,” Chelsea smiles. “There are certain routines and things we need to make. Sometimes we do cupcakes or special cookies. Whoever is making the donut gets to make what they want to make and have a creative outlet. If we want to bring something in we always make sure we have a plan for it. I’m working on developing the brunch menu to reflect the arrival of season. So if I bring in pears, we find ways to cross utilize them across many restaurants and formats.”

Then there’s the fun of watching MJ and Chelsea bat back and forth like a tennis, crosschecking tasks and playing off each other’s moves and sensibilities, which are opposed in the most fluid and collaborative way. Complementary, like any effective creative pair.

“I think everybody at the commissary really enjoys working here,” MJ reflects. “We all come with a purpose and work equally as hard, and at the end of the day that’s what worth it.”

Just try to keep up… Chef! Whether for a creative night out with friends or corporate team-building, this intimate pasta-making evening with Michael provides all the tools to learn how to mix, form and shape your way to pasta perfection. It’s all about learning the basics and taking them with you into your home. And maybe the student showing the teacher a thing or two?!

Hosted after hours at Ella Pop Café in the Miami Design District, the twinkle light atmosphere of Palm Court sets the tone for a fun-filled evening of good food with the host with the most himself. We had fun watching the class go down a couple of weeks ago, with plenty of glasses to go around courtesy beverage manager Amanda Fraga. Each experience includes cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a three course meal prepared by the chefs of Michael Schwartz Events when the interactive session is complete. Book it by emailing Director of Special Events Lindsay Guidos today!

It’s that time again! We are excited to announce our fall job fair, which will take place TODAY, Thursday, October 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at our corporate headquarters, 3936 North Miami Avenue on the second floor (above Harry’s Pizzeria in the Miami Design District!)

Michael’s philosophy is simple, and it permeates every aspect of our business as stewarded by our people. Genuine is a thoughtful approach — not just making food that tastes great from quality ingredients, but a tireless, it-can-always-be-better attention to detail in every aspect of the dining experience. We are laser focused on growing the company with great people who have a passion and desire to contribute to this Genuine Culture, and regular job fairs are a perfect way for representatives from each restaurant to meet with potential candidates to find the right fit! We are looking for dependable, reliable and professional staff members with great attitudes and personalities to join the team and help us be better at what we do. If this sounds like you and you’re inspired and motivated by a dynamic environment, apply in person with your resume.

The fair will recruit for all front and back of house positions including restaurant manager, bartender, reservationist, host/hostess, barista, pizza cook, line cook, sous chef, server, and busser. The Genuine Hospitality Group restaurants include Michael’s Genuine® Food & Drink (fresh, simple, pure), ella (light and airy café), Amara at Paraiso (coming soon!) and Harry’s Pizzeria® (neighborhood American pizzeria) which is expanding to Aventura in November, in addition to its current three locations (Miami Design District, Coconut Grove and Kendall/Pinecrest in Downtown Dadeland). Join team Michael Schwartz!